A return to school

An oldie but a goodie and a return to school

This is an old photograph. It was taken in 2009 by my good friend Phillip Maher. We were hanging out at a day orphanage in Eshowe, South Africa with Rob O'Flanagan who was working for the Guelph Mercury at the time and Brenda Halloran who was the mayor of Waterloo and off course, Andy McDougall. Man, I miss him. We were quite a team.

The orphanage was built by a formidable African woman named Aurelia who devoted her life to caring for children orphaned by AIDS in her community. At that time, so many parents had died of AIDS that older siblings were left to care for their younger siblings alone on the family property. By older I mean age 10 and above. Man, the world can be an utterly nasty place and remains so for so many. Imagine your 10 year old being left alone with your younger children in your house after you and your spouse have passed. I can't. The options for these kids were very limited. An orphanage means that siblings are separated and the family land is lost, taking away any hope for a viable future. Bracelet of Hope cares for kids like these if foster homes in Lesotho where siblings can stay together in one home under the careful guidance of a loving foster parent. They stay in their community and we support them into young adulthood, moving them onto a skilled trade as they leave the foster home community. It works.

In Aurelia's community there were too many orphans, 16 million in sub Saharan Africa at the time; sixteen million orphaned by AIDS. They were the reason I devoted my career to those affected by HIV and built a charitable organization that could respond is some way. Their plight would have crushed my soul had I not responded. Aurelia felt the same way. She had the brilliant idea of building a day orphanage. The older sibling of a 'sibling-led' family would drop the younger siblings off at the orphanage and then carry on to the school next door. After school the entire family was given a meal and help with homework until just before dark when the whole troop was sent off home to and empty house. What a world. What a world. Aurelia was a teacher. Teaching was her passion. In her heart and mind, not responding to the tremendous difficulties of her students was not an option. I loved Aurelia and everything she stood for.

God love the teachers. Where would we be without you? Where would our children be without you? What is being required from you this fall is no small thing. You will become members of the esteemed group of frontline workers who have tackled this pandemic head on for months now. I would like to offer you my reassurance about what happens next but I will not downplay how difficult this will be and how terrified many of you are. I remember that first few weeks of treating patients after the pandemic was declared. I was terrified. I am not sure how I coped but I do know that I was not alone and that the wellbeing of my patients was paramount.

Five months in and we are in much better shape with respect to COVID 19. The incidence of cases is extremely low now. The risk of community transmission is also very low. Eight-nine cases in Ontario today. Eighty-nine out of 14 and a half million people. It is time to return to school.

Rely on this:

Students in Grades 4 through 12 will be required to wear a non-medical mask or cloth face covering while at school. Younger children will be encouraged, but not required, to do so. I think they should all wear masks and I hope their parents will enforce this.

Medical masks will be provided for teachers and other staff. This is key. That medical mask is protective. It not only stops you from transmitting the virus to others but, unlike a cloth mask, it reduces the risk of the virus being transmitted to you. Doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners have been relying on these masks in clinic settings for months now, including in COVID clinics where at-risk patients line up every day. No healthcare worker in the province has picked up COVID 19 at a COVID clinic. The surgical mask works.

The low incidence of infection, combined with the surgical masks you wear and the cloth masks that most of the kids will be wearing makes a return to school safe. Add to that physical distancing where possible and hand sanitizing and the risk of transmission is even lower. I think we would all prefer smaller class sizes. Perhaps we can all advocate on your behalf around this.

It is time to return. Some of the best pediatric minds in the province have reviewed the science, the pros the cons, the risks of returning, the risks of not returning. I agree with them. It is time to return.

More details to follow I am sure. I am not an expert but I trust the experts. I will do my best to share what I continue to learn including the promising results of an established return to school in Scandinavian countries who returned when their pandemics were not as well controlled as ours is now.

I hope you sleep well this weekend despite the fear. I pray for that for you!

Anne-Marie

Please share.

A great place for mental health support here:
https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/

For equal access to treatment in Lesotho!
https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/

For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:
https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/